But to hear lead guitarist Boss Lixxx tell it, the band's real sorrow comes from the fact that they didn't see this coming in time to intervene.

"We were pretty happy with our last album [2012's Awakened, which featured tracks entitled 'Cauterize,' 'No Lungs to Breathe,' and 'Tear Out My Eyes']," said Lixxx. "Sometimes the bile just builds up, you know? Especially when you're trying to be a Christian, trying to believe that the world is essentially good and people can be redeemed. The tension between what is and what ought to be builds up, and over the course of six albums, our music has been a way to express and relieve that tension. Metal has always gotten a bad rap, because it sounds so angry. But really, the anger comes from a thirst for justice and peace. It's right there in the first verse of metal god Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train:" Maybe it's not too late/ to learn how to love and forget how to hate. So yeah, we sing about corruption and destruction and degradation and violence, but there's hope at the heart of it."

Given that, says Lixxx, "The alarm bells should have gone off when Tim came into the studio in February and announced that our next album would be called Kittens and Rainbows. Something was going on inside, and he wasn't letting it out. Just look at the lyrics for the first song he wrote, 'Angel's Kiss:' Everything's great/ Yes I love my life/ And I sure would hate/ If someone killed my wife/ Cuz I still love her/ Even though we're apart/ And she'll always be/ The queen of my heart.

"Yeah, that's some twisted shit right there," concluded Lixxx. "So basically, we're sad, but not surprised. Maybe I'll write a song about it."